The usage of time-shift programming and on-demand programming has become popular with many viewers. In general such features allow the viewers to watch media programs at times more convenient to them rather than requiring the viewers to watch the media programs during the scheduled broadcast of the media programs by the media providers.
Video tape recorders (“VTRs”), such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,956,114, were first introduced in the 1950's. Although VTRs revolutionized television broadcasting at the broadcasting studios, VTRs were generally too extensive for home usage. The Sony Corporation introduced a video cassette recorder (“VCR”) in the early 1970's. Although the VCR was intended for home usage, the VCR did not become popular until the early 1980's. Since then, the VCR was quickly adopted by many viewers. In 1997, the VCR was named the number one invention which has “made life earlier” for Americans in daily life according to the Invention Index. Despite the popularity of the VCR, many viewers considered VCRs difficult to operate properly. During the 1990's, the digital video recorder (DVR) was introduced. Compared to the VCR, many viewers consider the DVR easier to operate especially in view of interactive programming guides (“IPGs”) that allow viewers to scan channel and media program listings and select one or more media programs through the IPGs for recording. Moreover, the DVR provided more recording options for viewers compared to a VCR. For example, the DVR allows for the recording of an entire season of a particular media program.
Although the DVR and the IPG have provided the viewer with an easier and quicker means for recording a media program or programs compared to the VCR, the viewer is still required to navigate through the IPG to find a media program of interest. With an ever increasing number of channels, browsing through the IPG is becoming more time consuming. With the number of channels and media programs available, a viewer may miss a media program that he or she would have found interesting if he or she was aware of the media program or a viewer may be aware of a particular media program but might have problems locating it through the IPG.